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I'm new to beekeeping and I just hived my bees.

So the first thing that strikes me as strange during the day bees are all over the front of the box. It isn't quite thick enough to be a "bee beard" but it just looks like the hive is over heating but, its really not that hot, hottest its been so far is maybe 75. Should my inner cover have a small slot cut in the outside edge like an entrance? Secondly, I opened the hive up on day 3 to make sure the queen was released and I'm already getting those peanut cells, is that maybe where I had a frame out for the queen box, maybe burr comb? i dunno ... please help me understand whats going on with my bees. set up right now is screened bottom board, tape over inner cover hole, hive top feeder, and 1 deep hive body.

Re: I'm new to beekeeping and I just hived my bees.

Could you see eggs? I'm still a fairly new beek, myself (< 1 year), but I would think if you can see single eggs in the cells, that means she got out and started laying. The peanut cells make me think that something happened to make the bees decide they needed a new queen (if you are, in fact, seeing supersedure cells). Do you have pictures, by chance?

Beekeeping is like anything else: there is a wide range of opinions, thoughts, and ideas. I had a fairly experienced beek give me some guidance on wintering my hive that the bee man at the local university extension told me would probably kill it (and I think he was right).

Re: I'm new to beekeeping and I just hived my bees.

Re: I'm new to beekeeping and I just hived my bees.

Your know it all was right about just checking to see if the cage was empty. I just pull them and make sure the frames are tight together so comb gets built straight. I then wait for close to another week to check for how well the queen is laying. Going in too often can result in supercedure when the queen doesn't warrant it. The best rule of thumb is to only go in your hives when you have a plan and hopefully the resources to correct anything you find wrong. That is why two hives are good for beginners as you have eggs and brood to help fix the queenless colony. The queen may still be laying when supercedure cells are present. Best to leave them alone and just check to see if there are more eggs and brood.

Re: I'm new to beekeeping and I just hived my bees.

The peanut queen cells are normal. Bees just like to build them just in case. Some will build them while others will tear them down. I have seen both. If your queen not lay in these cells and they are sealed then don't worry about the swarming. If they are sealed in 5 days more then you need to do a split so they not swarm later on. But with empty qc it is quite normal during the early spring time.
At 75F inside is more than 95F. Remember they keep the inside hive that warm, right. So an outside temp that high will be really warm inside as well. They only trying to keep the hive cool by fanning outside. My full sun hive do that all the time. To help them relief the high temp inside, I put a small stick so warm air can escapt to the outside in a warm sunny day. Also, right now should be warmer as the days go by. You don't have to tape over the inner cover hole anymore. This will allow the warm air to escape so they can concentrate on finding foods like nectar and pollen instead of fanning the hive to cool it down. I know you have a screened bottom board. But if the top is all shut off then warm air rising to the top have no where to escape to. I would not blame them if they are fanning at all. Check again tomorrow to see if they are fanning the hive. Many will just hang outside the hive to fan and remain motionless just their wings fanning at high speed. This indicate their hive inside is too hot at 75F outside temp.
Any yes, do not look for the queen intentionally on a hive check. Too much time spend for that. As long as you see eggs then you know the queen is o.k. and laying. Marking your queen is better to spot her right away with a glance. Her paint will stand out.

Re: I'm new to beekeeping and I just hived my bees.

I would guess, from what you've said, that the bees are on the front of the box soaking up warmth from the sun. There is no work to do enough inside the hive for them to be needed at the moment.

I think the peanuts you see must be burr comb from where you had a frame out. It's only been three days so it's very doubtful the queen is laying yet so it shouldn't be anything about queen cells yet. Just put a frame back in the space and close them up.

I would advise leaving them alone for a week before checking back in. Try to relax and let them do their thing for awhile to get established. Once they have some brood rearing going then they will be more stable and inspections won't be so intruding on them. Watch them come and go and when you see them bringing in pollen then you'll know they are getting going better.

Re: I'm new to beekeeping and I just hived my bees.

Carld-

I am a firm believer that "less is more" in beekeeping. There is an old adage that there are "bee-havers" (beekeepers who don't do enough), "bee-keepers", and "bee-meddlers" (beekeepers that do too much). Most first-time beekeepers fall into the bee-meddlers category, myself included, it is only natural to want to see what is going on inside the hive. It sounds like you haven't found a good local mentor yet. Keep looking, check if you have a local beekeeping club (most counties do). Ignore the know-it-alls and find someone who has consistent success with honey production and colony survival.

Re: I'm new to beekeeping and I just hived my bees.

Great news. I did an early inspection (7 days since I hived the package, couldn't wait!) i removed the "swarm cells" and made some adjustments to my setup to cool off the hive. The results are great, I was able to spot the queen, eggs, and the bees did not rebuild the swarm cells. Thank you all for your advice and help. Cooling the hive off worked like a charm.